Is the Future of Radio Syndication?

Posted May 14, 2025

Research such as The Jacobs Tech Survey highlights the growing appeal of local content. Yet, despite this trend, syndicated programming is gaining traction, particularly inside broadcasting companies.

One prominent industry executive, who asked to remain anonymous, confidently asserts: “Syndication is the future of radio.”

Why? Because syndication addresses two of the industry’s most pressing challenges:

Elevating content quality across the board, ensuring listeners receive highly engaging shows no matter where they live.
Reducing the painfully long stop-sets that drive listeners to streaming alternatives.

“Syndication introduces a new kind of local,” the executive explains. “Thanks to AI, syndicated shows can now be hyper-personalized—with station names, local references, and even regional nuances blended seamlessly into the programming.”

Our source parallels modern commerce: “Look around—many thriving global companies operate without a single brick-and-mortar location. We shop online, stream everything, and rarely shop at physical stores. Radio can evolve in the same way.

Advancements in technology allow radio to shed traditional infrastructure costs, like buildings and real estate. The result? Lower overhead, fewer commercials, and increased ad rates. Need a meeting space? There’s WeWork.”

Time Spent Listening (TSL) to radio is short. Our source suggests, “Instead of two 6–7-minute breaks per hour, a smarter approach is three shorter breaks—2 minutes and 30 seconds each.”

LOCAL VERSUS SYNDICATION

This week, I spoke with three top executives to get their take on the evolving debate between local programming and syndication:

Greg Strassell, EVP Programming, Hubbard Radio

We must be open to what’s right for a particular market or station.  We will always start by discussing a local opportunity and available programming budget.

What matters is a good personality that entertains and shares their life with the audience. If you can get that and have the budget to do it locally, perfect! If you can’t get the budget, there are amazing possibilities from self-syndication within companies or a syndicator, provided they can fit into the sound and vision of the brand.

When Brooke & Jeffrey launched on our station in Chicago, Throwback100.3, the naysayers said it would never work. Several years later, Brooke & Jeffrey are 4th in Chicago with women, and we see a steady growth pattern over the years.

Syndication requires the efforts of both the content producer and the receiving brand to keep in touch daily to wisely integrate a syndicated product. Our teams in St. Louis and Cincinnati have invested much time to launch “Jesse & Anna” and get it right for WIL St. Louis.

Whether it’s local or syndicated, is your brand vital to your audience? If not, how do you make it vital? 

Don Anthony, Owner: Morning Show Boot Camp, Jockline Daily, Talentmasters

A case can be made for local and syndication, but it comes down to the best show. Obviously, this debate has evolved quite a bit over time, and with the proliferation of so many options and platforms for listeners, it’s hard to arrive at a consensus, particularly by demo or market size.

Syndication has steadily grown in recent years, both nationally and regionally, and across various time slots. The number of syndicated shows has also grown. Well-programmed live and local radio remains as viable as ever, especially in those markets with well-entrenched shows whose local connection and history lends well to their popularity.

Pat Paxton, Senior VP, Content Saga Communications

Whether to go local or syndicated depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. You must look at the brand, the signal, and the competitive landscape. If the format is Rock and syndicated shows like Bob and Tom are already in the market, we would first look to invest in a local show.

You can’t beat a great local show. They live there, go to events, and they can talk about what’s going on locally. Conversely, if you don’t have the budget to build a winning local show, syndication is a viable option.

If it’s a choice of good local show vs. a good, syndicated show, go local. If it’s a bad local show vs. a good, syndicated show, go syndicated.

Great syndicated personalities don’t work in all markets. We have a show that’s killing it in one market and struggling in another.

In our large PPM markets, we’re 99% local with high performing shows in Milwaukee, Columbus and Norfolk. We also have some great local shows in smaller markets but are certainly open to syndication as market conditions dictate. 

We haven’t gotten into syndicating our own talent within our company. You still have the same issues as national syndication like modifying the content to sound connected to the other markets.

THE WRAP

At RLC, we work with both local and syndicated shows—and we agree with our contributors, the right approach depends on the brand, circumstances, and budget.

However, radio’s commercial load remains its greatest obstacle. Long spot breaks continue to push listeners toward streaming platforms with shorter or nonexistent interruptions.

The idea that radio no longer needs physical buildings has floated around for years. It’s a viable strategy. By cutting real estate and infrastructure costs, stations can significantly reduce their commercial load, raise rates, and reinvest in higher-quality content.